Born in Port Elizabeth, his roots in Surat, Haroon Lorgat, a “bigtime fan” of Mahatma Gandhi, is also a chartered accountant and partner at Ernst & Young. But it is his “second job”, as convenor of selectors for the South African cricket team, which gets him all the headlines.

Well, here’s one more. Unfazed by India’s 96-run win over a second-string side in the four-day game here today, Lorgat is sure where the three-Test series starting next Friday is headed. “Judging on form, between the two teams, I expect South Africa to win 3-0. We have got a solid batting line-up, and a great pace attack, which will make all the difference,” Lorgat told The Sunday Express.

Then, with a naughty twinkle in his eyes, Lorgat adds, “I think we have the potential to make a very convincing series win. And that would mean 3-0 or 2-1. Why 1? Maybe, I am being diplomatic.”

“But I will never underrate some of the match-winners that you have like Sachin Tendulkar on his day, Rahul Dravid, Irfan Pathan, and Zaheer Khan. I also know that Test cricket is a different game, and if one of their match-winners comes through, they can pull off a win,” he says.

Having watched the one-day ‘whitewash’, Lorgat says the only way out for India is for its top-order batsmen to fire. “A lot of your players are not in the best of form. We had a similar situation with Graeme Smith (captain), and Herschelle (Gibbs) for a while. There’s no question that your batting line-up, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, is struggling with form. On top of that, they are finding the pace and bounce uncomfortable. They need time to adjust,” says Lorgat. Maybe, he adds, India could have come into this series better prepared. “I thought the preparation could have been done at home. I remember the pitch at Mohali where we played the Champions Trophy, there was pace and bounce, quite like what it is here. I think preparation is quite important, because it does take time to adjust here,” he says.

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